Tag Archives: retirement

‘Retirement’ brings shelter from the wind

pooch in wind

This is another in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

My wife’s wisdom is understated, but profound nonetheless.

I stuck my head out the front door late this morning and then told her about how the wind was howling like the dickens.

“Sometimes it’s really good to be retired … on days like this,” she said.

Indeed.

So, I’m not really and truly “retired” fully in the strictest definition of the word. But she’s right about this fact: Neither of us had to be anywhere today, reporting for work, doing things on other people’s behest.

It’s nice to be sort of semi-retired, to be sure.

The wind has been blowing dirt into the air all damn day! Fires have closed highways all across the Texas Panhandle. I’ve heard reports of potential danger to some homes in rural Randall County.

I had a brief conversation this morning with a news source with whom I will speak Thursday afternoon about a feature I’ll be writing for KFDA-NewsChannel 10’s website. I had called him; he called back a little later. I answered the phone. My source said, “It must be nice to work from home.” He laughed. So did I. “That’s the payoff for getting old,” I told him.

“But you’re not old,” he said. I don’t feel old, but I am older than he is, which is the point of why I said what I said.

Retirement has its benefits. I’ll experience all of them in due course.

It is rewarding, though, to enjoy being able to stay indoors today — and away from the raging wind that gives the Texas Panhandle its, um, special quality.

 

Feeling more ‘retired’ these days

whyretire

This is the latest in an occasional series of blogs commenting on upcoming retirement.

I’ve mentioned already that I have assumed a new status at one of the four part-time jobs I’ve been working during the past year.

The new on-call/as-needed status means that I’m spending more time at home working my three other jobs, all of which allow me to work from my study.

One of them does require that I leave the house to interview subjects for news stories I write.

But here’s what I’ve discovered about this new phase of my life as I inch toward full retirement: I like the untethered feeling.

What’s more, I’m getting more comfortable with it.

Yes, I have errands to run and things to do around the house. I get to keep posting items on this blog, which gives me great joy as I’m able to comment on this and that.

These days, though, my wife and I spend a good deal of time talking to each other about our future. The conversations almost always involve spending more time with grandchildren, traveling in our recreational vehicle, sprucing up our home and just feeling good these days about our lot in life.

I’m not yet ready to jettison the rest of my jobs. They all involve journalism, which for decades — while I was working full time for The Man — defined me to my friends and acquaintances. It doesn’t define me that much these days, which is the way I want it to be. Still, my work with two TV stations in Amarillo and a weekly newspaper in New Mexico give me great pleasure.

My former career is getting much smaller in that proverbial rear-view mirror. That’s all right, too.

Life is good.

 

Down to just three jobs

retirement_road

This is another in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

Four jobs have turned to just three.

More or less.

I worked my last shift today as a “regular” part-time employee of an Amarillo auto dealership where I’ve been working for more than two years.

No, I didn’t quit. I merely asked to work on an “as-needed basis.” Someone calls in sick? Or goes on vacation? Or gets stuck in the snow and ice? Call me. I’ll be available . . . maybe.

My availability will depend mostly on whether my wife and I are on the road tooling around the country towing our fifth wheel, or visiting with our granddaughter — and her parents and two brothers — in Allen, Texas.

This retirement status has been slow to take root. I’m continuing to have too much fun as a freelance blogger for two media outlets. I’m continuing to write news features for NewsChannel10.com, which is the website for KFDA-TV in Amarillo. I also am writing blogs for PanhandlePBS.com, offering perspective on public affairs programming. The third job involves editing news copy and proofreading pages for a weekly newspaper in Tucumcari, N.M.

I’m now officially a Social Security recipient, joining my wife, who decided to take “early retirement” a couple of years ago. Social Security says that at my age I am able to collect “full retirement benefits.”

But the idea of going to work two or three — or sometimes four — days a week became something that I found less appealing now that our household income took a dramatic boost once Social Security benefits began arriving.

I don’t intend to quit the auto dealer job entirely. However, as retirement inches closer, I am looking forward to spending a lot more time at home doing what I enjoy the most . . . which is to write.

And, oh yes. I also will keep pounding away from this platform.

 

Back home safe; no errors

park

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

I am happy to report that my wife and are now measuring — partially at least — the success of our fifth wheel trips by the absence of rookie errors.

We’re still fairly new in this RV traveling experience, but we’re finding it easier as we undergo the growing pains associated with this new lifestyle.

We have just concluded an eight-day jaunt through much of north and central Texas. We spent Christmas evening with our son, daughter-in-law and grandkids in Allen; and, oh yeah, we had those hideous tornadoes to contend with the next night.

We got through it all, had a wonderful time, saw “Star Wars” with our son, played with our granddaughter who’s starting to refer to us as something that sounds vaguely like “Ma-Maw” and “Pa-Paw.”

But, hey, Emma is not yet 3, so that’ll likely change. We’ll settle on whatever she wants to call us . . . just as long as she calls, you know?

Then it was off to San Marcos, which is roughly halfway between San Antonio and Austin, where we visited with one of our nieces, her husband, their two daughters and my wife’s brother,  all of whom live in or right near Austin.

After three nights there, we headed toward home and spent another night at San Angelo State Park. We cooled our jets, got a good night’s sleep and rolled onto the Texas Tundra, where we discovered someone had plowed the snow off our street — and into a large pile right in front of our home.

We’re learning out way through this RV business. It’s getting easier each time out, although we’ve learned not to take anything for granted.

I’m not sure when we’ll become experts at it. Frankly, I like being forced to think about ensuring we don’t cut corners too tightly, or making sure we put the wastewater cap back before we shove off.

But we’ve already begun thinking about the next excursion.

And, of course, the next big adventure.

 

 

Social Security has arrived

retirement_road

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

The phone rang; caller ID informed me, “U.S. Government.”

I answered. The lady on the other end said, “May I speak with John Kanelis?” Yes, I said. You are speaking to him.

It was the Social Security Administration and after answering some “security questions” — Mom’s maiden name, place of birth … that kind of thing — the nice lady told me my Social Security benefit has been approved.

My head is spinning.

She told me when it would start arriving. She gave me the amount. She answered a couple of questions regarding my eligibility to keep earning income outside of Social Security. I thanked her, hung up the phone and now am wondering: How many of these four part-time jobs I am working do I want to keep?

I think I’ll keep all of them … at least for the time being.

The biggest head-spinner of all is the speed with which I received the call.

I applied online for the SS benefit on Sunday. Today is Wednesday. It’s the morning of the third business day after I submitted my application. I had received an e-mail from Social Security that informed me I could check after five business days on the status of my application. I reckon I don’t need to check now.

This is utterly amazing.

What in the world ever happened to the federal government that supposedly took forever to do anything on request? Furthermore, whatever happened to the cold-hearted, borderline rude federal bureaucrats with whom one dealt whenever one had an issue with the government? The individual with whom I spoke was courteous, pleasant and answered my questions with ease.

I told you the other day I was a happy fellow.

Today, I am even happier.

 

Taking the big leap toward retirement

retirement-sign-copy

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

I am a happy man today.

Perhaps you’re asking, “Why?” Well, I’ll tell you.

This morning I took the huge — or, as Donald Trump would say, “Yuuuuuge!” — leap toward retirement by applying for my Social Security benefits.

My 66th birthday is right around the corner. That’s when I become eligible to draw full retirement benefit from the Social Security Administration. That means I can draw the benefit and keep working part-time — which I intend to do.

On the advice of three women I trust implicitly — starting with my wife — I made the decision to go ahead and not wait any longer.

The other two are our tax accountant and the manager of our retirement investment portfolio. They both have concluded that it’s best to go now. Don’t wait any longer, they say, even though the longer I would have waited the more I could get monthly once I got approved.

Part of my Social Security income will be subject to income taxation if I earn more than a certain amount annually. But it’s a small enough portion, with the tax liability being minimal, I figure, “Why not go now?”

I should stipulate as well that I’ve never minded paying taxes. Unlike some of my fellow Americans out there who rant, rave and rebel against paying taxes, I never have harbored that kind of anti-tax sentiment.

I made the application this morning and ever since submitting the information online I’ve feeling strangely satisfied that I’ve done the right thing.

I want to add another good word. Many of us bitch constantly about the government and its sometimes-complicated machinery. I was amazed today at the ease of applying for this benefit online. The questions were clear; the government website provided “help” links if I stumbled — and yes, I checked with two of them to make sure I was answering the questions correctly.

It was easy, man.

It’s a big step. I had been looking forward to taking it for a good while. Now that I’ve taken it, I’m feeling even better about the decision my wife and I have made.

 

 

Journey coming to an end

at the beach

COLORADO CITY, Texas — It hasn’t been the Trip of a Lifetime.

My wife and I have experienced a couple of those already in our 44 years together.

We did, however, answer a key question: Are we able to spend more than, say, a long weekend on the road in our fifth wheel travel vehicle?

Our answer? Yes … absolutely.

It’s our final night on the road. We’ll get up in the morning, unplug the water and the electricity and head to Lubbock for lunch with two of our best friends in the world. Then it’s home to Amarillo.

We’ve had a wonderful time catching up with some old friends along the way. We saw family members … including our precious granddaughter Emma.

We have nearly completed the big circle that covered roughly have of our huge state. We’ve taken in a good portion of Texas’s amazingly diverse landscape: from the Caprock, to rolling hills and the lakes, the Piney Woods, the Gulf Coast, the Hill Country — and tonight we camped out at Lake Colorado City State Park, which feature the cactus and scrub brush common in West Texas.

Our pets — our dog and cat — proved to us that they’re both excellent travelers. We took a gamble with our 13-year-old kitty, Mittens; she didn’t let us down. Toby the puppy? You know about him. He’s the coolest customer … ever!

Our latest journey is about to end. My wife and I are convinced more than ever that, yes, by golly — we can do this when the time comes to quit working for a living.

 

This journey is going to test us

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on upcoming retirement.

A big trip is in our future. I’m not nervous about it, but I am a bit anxious.

We’ll be on the road for two weeks and one day, if all goes according to plan. It’s going to be an in-state adventure with our fifth wheel RV, which my wife some time back nicknamed “Sally,” as in the late astronaut Sally Ride. You see, our RV will ride it us, get it?

We’re planning to head east and south through Texas. We’ll go to a state park just north of the Dallas area, where we’ll visit with our granddaughter and her parents. Then we’ll mosey southward toward the Beaumont area, where we lived for nearly 11 years before moving to the Panhandle more than 20 years ago; there we’ll catch up with some dear friends. Then we’ll head to Houston to see more friends. Then it’s on to Corpus Christi for some sand and surf. Our last stop will be the Hill Country to see more family and some friends.

This trip, though, is going to have an important new wrinkle added to it.

My wife and I had been thinking separately about what to do with our 13-year-old kitty, Mittens. Then my wife broached the subject out loud this weekend: Why don’t we take her with us?

OK, there you go. No worries, then, about keeping her in the house. We’ve known all along we didn’t want to board her somewhere; she wouldn’t do well in the care of strangers.

So, for the first time we’re going to take her with us. It’s going to be something of a trial run, as we intend to travel more extensively as we inch toward full retirement.

Mittens is in good health. We have some time plan how we’re going to do this. We’re kicking around a few options to employ while we’re on the road. We’re confident she’ll be just fine once we stop and get comfortable in our sites along the way.

Oh, of course we have Toby the dog, who’s proven to be a tremendous traveler. He’s one cool customer.

Mittens, though, might present some challenges for us.

Keep us — and her — in your thoughts as we ponder our plan of action.

We haven’t told her yet. We’ll save the best for last.

This beats ‘free hot breakfast’ any time

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on impending retirement.

DODGE CITY, Kan. — My wife just said something that tickled my funny bone.

“You know,” she said, “this is great. If we were staying at a hotel, we’d be fighting with others waiting to eat a ‘free hot breakfast,’ which of course really isn’t free; it’s just part of the room rate. I love doing this.”

“This” happened to be eating a light breakfast in our fifth wheel, which has been parked for the past four nights at an RV park.

We’re about to pack it up and head back home.

But her point about traveling this way, avoiding the occasional hassle of waiting in line to serve up overcooked — or undercooked — scrambled eggs, greasy sausage or bacon and lumpy oatmeal, is the way to go.

Not only that, and this remains one of life’s unsolved mysteries: The food tastes better in an RV than it does in a hotel. It’s like eating a hot dog at a baseball game. As the late singer/talk show host Mike Douglas once said, “A hot dog tastes like a filet mignon at a baseball game.”

The same can be said of a lemon muffin, yogurt and frozen fruit, and a cup of coffee — which is what my wife and I consumed this morning.

Well, the fun’s about to end. Got to get ready to go.

Knock yourselves out, hotel guests.

 

Yes, I am 'living the dream' … honest

This is the latest in an occasional series of blog posts commenting on impending retirement.

You hear it all the time.

“Hey, how ya doin’?”

“Just living the dream, man. Just living the dream.”

You both laugh. It’s kind of a self-deprecating expression — usually — meant to make good-natured fun of one’s lot in life.

I don’t say that to folks because I don’t want anyone to confuse what I mean with what I say. Which is to say that were I to declare I’m “living the dream,” I really and truly mean it.

I’m happy to make the declaration here. Please know that in all sincerity, life is good.

I now am working four — count ’em, four — part-time jobs. They all activities that give me great pleasure.

Three of them involve journalism: blogging for Panhandle PBS (panhandlepbs.org), the Amarillo College-affiliated public TV station; writing news stories for NewsChannel10.com, which is the website for Amarillo’s local CBS-TV affiliate, NewsChannel 10; and helping a friend publish a weekly newspaper, the Quay County Sun, based in Tucumcari, N.M.

My wife reminds me that I am getting paid “to have fun.”

The fourth job is as a concierge for Street Toyota here in Amarillo. My task there? To chat with service customers and to make their experience at Street more enjoyable. That’s what they asked of me when they hired me. I thought, “Heck yeah, I can do that!”

I’ve heard others say as they enter semi-retirement that they “busier’n ever.” I get it. My wife and I are taking time as well to enjoy our life, to travel a bit here and there and to get ready for the day when we can move into full retirement.

My daily grind in print journalism ended more than two years ago. It was a stunning development. I’ve recovered nicely, I’m happy to report.

You won’t hear me say I’m “living the dream.” I don’t want you to think I’m making fun of my lot in life.

The dream is quite real.